The Wisdom of Hypatia: Ancient Spiritual Practices for a More Meaningful Life

This is a very well written book, but not what I was looking for. It's a great introductory level book on Greek philosophy. I was looking for more material on the historical Hypatia. This is more geared towards the neopagan/historical speculation genre.

Most scholars write only for other scholars. We readers are in luck that this University of Tennessee professor chose to write for those of us who don't have Ph.D.s in philosophy!This is an absolutely wonderful book that makes the wisdom of the ancient Greeks accessible to us today. MacLennan introduces us to the Epicureans and Stoics (there's a lot more to both than you might imagine!), as well as to Neoplatonism, the most spiritually sophisticated of the ancient Western schools of thought. He does this brilliantly by creating a fictional scenario in which we sit in on classes with Hypatia, the most famous female teacher of Western antiquity. Based on our knowledge of leading pagan thinkers at the time, the lessons she delivers are entirely plausible. This may be as close as we can come to actually auditing a class with Hypatia!If you're new to Greek philosophy, MacLennan removes the "intimidation" factor, making the best of ancient Western thought an easy, exciting, and utterly fascinating read. If you're already familiar with this tradition, you'll be amazed at how adroitly the author introduces readers to their pre-Christian Western spiritual heritage. Fans of Jungian psychology will also appreciate how seamlessly he integrates Jung's insights with ancient perspectives. (My own bias is that Neoplatonists like Hypatia think and meditate in ways that are, at times, nearly parallel to the Sankhya and Shaivite/Shakta sages of India.)

This extremely helpful book was a very literal answer to my prayer for gaining wisdom - you have many thanks!

Personally, I would've given this book five stars, had I not thought of this book as to "textbook" in nature. The writing is clear and precise, and I found the relationship between Paganism, Christianity, and Judaism, to be a great refresher from my earlier days, but the book does have to flaw of "keeping you hooked!" Other than that, a true masterpiece!

Enjoyable book that teaches a life plan that can make you a better human being. Gives you a perspective at looking at the world and yourself that gives balance when your going thru life's trials. The Ancient Philosophy is just as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. Our science and technology have changed. But people, our basic humanness, has not. Young or older you will get benefit from this course in Philosophy.

I liked the opening chapters of this book which focus on Epicurean ideas in "The Garden". However, the book bogs down and the later chapters of the so-called more advanced philosophies are not (at least to me) as intellectually satisfying as Epicurus' School. The "advanced" schools become more mystical, more absurd, and less rooted in existential reality. In that regard, Epicurus is by far the more modern philosopher that most scientifically minded readers will gravitate towards.

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I have not read it the whole way through, as I am in university at the moment, and have many other books to read. But from what I've read so far, its everything I expected it to be and more. I cannot wait to delve further into her teachings.

I was expecting a biography of this fascinating woman but found instead a self-help book with instructions for Neo-Platonist spiritual development. Disappointing.